It's a common joke that Americans swarm gyms and fitness centers following the start of a new year but then their new year's resolution glow fades out and gyms become ghost towns by February.

But the joke is based on reality. According to U.S. News, 80 percent of New Year's resolutions fail by the second week of February. So for gyms and fitness centers, one major effort is turning so-so gym-goers into goal-oriented fitness folks.

Regardless of who comes and goes and how quickly, some local gyms and fitness centers have a way of preparing themselves for an influx of new members. In addition to their onboarding processes, facilities have offered tips and guidance for new gym-goers wanting to make 2019 a fit year -- and keeping it that way.

Preparation

Jamie Kauffman, general manager of Fitworks in Mentor, mentioned seeing more foot traffic following New Year's Day. He also said that he finds the resolutions statistic "alarming," which is why he prepares people in a process called "new member experience."

"We're going to set them up to meet with our personal training manager, Mike," Kauffman said. "He sits down with them... goes over a little bit about goal-setting, what they're looking to accomplish here, making sure that they have a right time frame as far as a realistic goal goes for them. Then what they do is do a body-fat analysis form, he'll talk to them about proper nutrition... then what we do is we actually take them through a complementary session.

"A lot of these people come in and they might not know exactly what to do, or maybe they do but they need that extra little push."

Kauffman also ensures that his team members are ready for new gym-goers.

"As far as staff goes, we like to make sure everyone's comfortable with the increase in traffic," Kauffman added. "So what I usually do is I sit down and we'll go over some training; make sure everyone's on the same page with that."

He added that one goal for next year is to bring some new equipment into the facility.

As far as members go, Kauffman added that Fitworks wants people to know that assistance and advice is available, as long as they ask.

"We really want people to feel comfortable coming here," Kauffman said. "We really want to take our time to get to know everyone."

Heath Wenzel of The Bar Athletics in Willoughby focuses on having new members occupy the right headspace.

"I think everyone has an intake process and we're no different," Wenzel said. "But I think in our intake process we do talk a lot about mindset and goals, and not just generic goals, but kind of digging deeper into why people have come to us."

He mentioned that The Bar Athletics can set up "no sweat" intros for people interested in getting started.

"If you can just make it to the front door, we're going to sit down and talk with you and learn about you," Wenzel said. "We can get some root causes of why people sabotage themselves and we talk about failure... What does failure look like? What's the limiting factor for you? Is it time? Is it you don't believe in yourself? All that stuff can come up in that session with a coach."

Motivation tips

Kauffman recommends goal-setting and strong communication as advice for people interested in becoming a member.

"Don't give up on your goals; you came in here for a reason," he said. "Especially if you're a new gym-goer, don't be afraid to ask questions. That's what we're here for... That's the biggest thing, is people don't speak up. And when you don't speak up, you never get that help and advice you're seeking."

Wenzel said his gym focuses on holding members accountable in order to help them achieve.

"Our end goal isn't to have a bunch of people not show back up," Wenzel said. "We want to hold people accountable and we want people to stick around."

One accountability method that The Bar Athletics uses is through their app, Wodify, which runs the gym's programming and workouts. Members can access it anywhere, which eliminates the excuse of "not being there".

Wenzel also cited a goal-oriented mindset as the best advice for new members.

He said, "Once you've achieved that mindset of 'I want this', then just walk through the door. We'll take it from there. That's our job."